Ina's Fresh Peach Cake

 

Just a few blocks up the road from us is a very big orchard and farm that we love to visit.  This past weekend they were having a corn festival which meant that they had pony rides, craft booths, and live music.  The kids love going there and I don't mind taking them because I love visiting their farm stand.  It's a very quaint store, with an old-timely feel to it, and I could literally spend at least an hour, or more, walking around looking at everything.  They sell all kinds of decorations for the house, as well as beauty products, toys for kids, cookbooks, kitchen equipment, all sorts of local food mixes, jams, jellies, pickles, and lots and lots of gorgeous fresh produce.  

Anyway, this weekend I went a bit mad buying things while I was there.  A couple dozen ears of corn, all sorts of fresh peppers, gobs of peaches, cookies n cream fudge for my daughter, and a loud ass pop gun for my son (I'm already regretting that purchase).  Yep, I couldn't even carry it all to the car.  I had to use one of those wagons they provide to haul my goods.  When I got home I laid out 24 ears of corn on the counter and got "the look" from my husband.  It was the same look I got when he found out we had 28 boxes of pasta in our pantry. 


Needless to say, I shucked corn outside for a LONG time and when I was done I came in and saw the peck of peaches laying on the counter.  That's when I remembered Ina's recipe for her Fresh Peach Cake and decided to make it as a reward for shucking all that corn.  Surely shucking all that corn burned enough calories for a slice of cake? 

Fresh Peach Cake

Adapted from Ina Garten's How Easy Is That?

Serves 8

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

1-1/2 cups sugar, divided

2 extra-large eggs, at room temp

1 cup sour cream, at room temp

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 large, ripe peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Grease a 9-inch square baking pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and 1 cup of the sugar for 3-5 minutes on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy.  With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time, then the sour cream and vanilla, and mix until the batter is smooth.  In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix just until combined.  In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and the cinnamon.

Spread half of the batter evenly in the pan.  Top with half of the peaches, then sprinkle with two-thirds of the sugar mixture.  Spread the remaining batter on top, arrange the remaining peaches on top, and sprinkle with the remaining sugar mixture and the pecans. 

Bake the cake for 45-55 minutes (mine took more like 80 minutes), until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

**You can make this recipe even easier; substitute 16 ounces frozen peaches, defrosted.

 Notes/Results:  I'm not usually the biggest fan of a coffee cake or breakfast cake, but Ina's Fresh Peach Cake is really fabulous!  Of course I might be a bit biased because peaches are my absolute favorite fruit, BUT saying that, I think this is exquisite.  My favorite part of the cake was how the bottom and the sides got all caramelized, sweet, and crunchy with the sugar and cinnamon mixture.  Of course the inside was moist and fragrant with peaches, AND I'm not usually a huge fan of nuts on my cakes/breads, but the pecans on top of this cake were really nice because they gave that added crunch and of course they paired perfectly with the peaches.  A slice of this cake warm with a little bit of cream poured over it is swoon-worthy.  I highly recommend this recipe if you love peaches and/or you have an abundance of peaches right now.


Note:  The only drawback to this recipe is that I think the baking time is off in the book.  Ina says to bake the cake for 45-55 minutes, but this is simply not enough time.  Mine was wobbly in the center and I found I had to bake it about 80-90 minutes total.  Not a big deal, but worth mentioning.

I submitting this to my friend Michelle @ Ms. enPlace for her Garden Variety Wednesday.